When I was working on my Five Steps to Raising Devoted Readers, one of the most influential books I read was The Reading Zone, by Nancie Atwell. Atwell is a reading seminar teacher at CTL, a school in rural Maine. On average, Atwell’s 7th and 8th graders read between 40-100 quality books each year. The numbers are equally impressive for the younger kids at CTL. When I learned of Nancie’s success with these kids, my first thoughts were--who are these kids that read so many books? Is CTL a special school for gifted kids? How much are their families paying to get them such an elite education? 

And then I read the answer:

And, did you know that kids today are reading less than ever?


The Scary Stats

• As of 2011, America was the only free-market country where the current generation was less educated than the previous one.
• Kids today are reading at three grade levels below what kids were reading one-hundred years ago.
• Nearly 85% of the juveniles who face trial in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, proving that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime. More than 60% of all inmates are functionally illiterate
• A person with poor literacy is more likely to live in a non-working household, live in overcrowded housing, and is less likely to vote.

Finding a good book is not just a matter of luck. With kids especially, it can take effort and persistence to get them buried in a quality book. If your child is a reluctant reader, or a lazy reader like my boys used to be, chances are they just haven't clicked with the right books yet. But you can change that, and your efforts will be more than worth it. For starters, kids who read for pleasure have higher math scores, better social IQs, and a greater likelihood of job satisfaction down the road. But they're not going to get these benefits by reading Captain Underpants, I'm sorry to say. (My kids have tried time and again to have me think otherwise.) 

From policy makers, to teachers, down to individual readers everyone seems to be lowering the standards when it comes to reading. Kids today are reading at three grade levels below what kids were reading 100 years ago. And in general, kids in America will read less every year they grow older. With all the access to literature and leaps in technology, how can we regress so deeply?